


On Your Skin, On Yourself

by Petrichorrr



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Captive Prince Week 2016, M/M, Mention of past whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-07-28 06:47:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7629112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petrichorrr/pseuds/Petrichorrr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captive Prince Week 2016 Day 2: Scars</p>
<p>Laurent touches the marks on Damen's back when he thinks his lover is sleeping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Your Skin, On Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> The choice here was obvious, I kept going back to Damen's scars. Pretty sure this has been done before. Oh well.

Damen's breathing had evened out a while ago already but Laurent couldn't sleep. Instead of making him drowsy, the Akielon heat was preventing him from sleeping and he laid wide awake on the bed. From time to time, a cool breeze would enter through the curtained windows that they had left open for the night. The interior of the palace was cooler than the outside but Laurent still had trouble adapting. 

With a sigh he turned once more on his side, trying to find a confortable position and was met with Damen's back. Damen faced away from Laurent and was sleeping peacefully, his muscles relaxed and his breaths slow and deep. Laurent stopped moving and stared at Damen's back. It wasn't the first time he was seeing Damen's scars, far from it. He had seen them when Damen was his slave. He saw them nearly everyday when Damen got dressed, when they bathed together...

But he had never watched them. He had never let himself watch them.

From up close, he could clearly see the lines that the whip had left in the flesh, the slight hollow in the middle where the leather had broken the skin open. Even in the darkness, he could make out the difference of color. The clear lines clashed against the golden brown skin, much like the way his own skin did whenever they touched. 

Staring at the long marks covering Damen's back, Laurent felt his heart sink. They didn't hurt, Damen had said so several times. But they would always stay. 

He had wanted to see Damen suffer. He had liked seeing him in pain, surrendering to it. If it had been possible, Laurent would have made the punishment last longer. He had wanted to do it for so long, it was hard to regret it even now. His brother's killer had deserved it. 

Still, Damen...the man he now knew, didn't. It was unfair of Laurent to take revenge in such a pathetic and cruel way. 

Slowly, Laurent had started to trace the scars with his fingertips. He was so absorbed by his thoughts that he didn't notice the change in Damen's breathing. When Damen turned, he wasn't able to control his expression in time. He knew what he looked like, eyes wide and hand still half risen, but before he could move, Damen had already clasped his hand in his and was pulling him closer.

"Don't torture yourself. You can't do anything about it now." Damen said firmly.

"I wasn't -"

"You don't have to say anything Laurent" Damen said, gentler. And then in a murmur "I'm sorry I left scars on you too." 

Laurent squeezed his eyes shut and hid his face in Damen's neck, separating their hands to reach for Damen's back, stroking the skin lightly. He couldn't say it yet, but it didn't matter because Damen knew.

* * *

_“After injury, a scar is what makes you whole”_ -China Miéville


End file.
